Yesterday morning we reported that Barnes & Nobles struck a deal with Plastic Logic to provide exclusive content for their device. Now, another major company is jumping into the foray. AT&T is announcing a partnership with Plastic Logic to provide 3G service for wireless downloads to the eBook reader ala Sprint for the Amazon Kindle.

Ohh I can see things heating up in the eBook world. AT&T versus Sprint, Amazon versus Plastic Logic. I think I like this. Not only is AT&T going to provide the 3G service in the states, it also has the capability to provide 3G service in other parts of the world because AT&T offers GSM network towers, while Sprint only offers CDMA only in the U.S.

Hopefully AT&T won’t screw over their customers like they do with the iPhone plans because if they start charging for downloading eBooks, many people will just skip Plastic Logic’s offering and just go buy a Kindle. If Barnes and Nobles and Plastic Logic want this new partnership to work, they better hope AT&T offers their 3G download capability for free. One factor that could put the Plastic Logic device over the top would be if AT&T also offered free Wi-Fi on their Wi-Fi hot spots like they do for iPhone users.

It’s a little more than 5 months till the Plastic Logic device starts making some noise. Hey Amazon, can you hear the footsteps?

(Via Engadget)